"Most of what I think about right now is how so many things in the world are SO fucked up" says Jim James and few would contradict him. 'Make you wanna holler', as Marvin Gaye sang so memorably on Inner City Blues in 1971.
And my guess is that James has been consoling himself with some Motown chartbusters like Marvin's to get in the zone for his own 'What's Going On' album.
Away from the shackles of My Morning Jacket, his second solo record (after 2013's Regions Of Light And Sound of God) is replete with subdued rage and funky bass lines as he gets deep down and soulful.
However, the centrepiece of the album is more personal than political. The ten and half minutes of We Ain't Getting Any Younger is divided into two parts with part one being a synthy instrumental lead-in to its sequel. The title and content suggests that James' impatience with the modern world is made even less tolerable through the realization that he can no longer pass for a young soul rebel.
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Vocally, James' trademark falsetto is nowhere to be heard and it's fully two minutes into the opening track (Hide In Plain Sight) before we hear his voice at all. Thereafter, muted tones suggest a downbeat mood as he issues the promise (threat?) "I'll follow you to the end of the earth".
Same Old Lie is more on the button in its implied indictment of Trump's America and the titleThe World's Smiling Now is surely intended to be ironic.
But although the lack of specificity will ensure that this album won't date quickly, it's a weakness all the same. Some righteous protest music is arguably what the world needs right now but there are slim pickings here.
Jim James' website
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